[Top 15] Warhammer 40,000: Darktide Best Weapons That Are Powerful (Ranked)

Warhammer 40,000: Darktide boasts an absurd 87 different weapons for its players to use with 5 additional weapons with the recent “Secrets of the Machine God” update. So this guide is here to help new players figure out not only the best weapons to use but also their strengths and weaknesses.

15. Achlys Mk I Power Maul

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A bug zapper on a stick.

Stats: Crowd Control, Power Weapon

One of the two power mauls in the game, the Achlys is the notably lackluster one out of the two. This Ogryn exclusive weapon does one thing great and that is staggering enemies. With a click of the special fire button (This can be remapped to whatever key you want) you charge the maul and deliver a melee blast that pushes back most enemies which gives you just enough time to do the cycle again and again and again. However for this massive stagger bonus the Achlys has lackluster light and heavy attacks and charging the maul slows the Ogryn down so rushing down enemies is hard.

Choose this weapon if

• You like stunlocking enemies with minimal effort.
• You enjoy a more support focused Ogryn playstyle.
• You just like that charged bonk sound.

14. Accatran Mk VIIa Recon Lasgun 

 

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Bullpups your lasgun.

Stats: Rapid fire, High capacity

The Vlla variant of the rapid fire Accatran Recon Lasguns is the weakest of the bunch because of one simple reason, it’s the slowest firing. The point of the Recon Lasguns is to be a fast firing low damage lasgun and the Vlla variant wants to be a higher damaging slow firing version, but it doesn’t do enough damage to be worth the slower firing rate. And while it gets the very strong “Infernus” weapon blessing which burns enemies on a crit you are shooting less shots to be criting with so it falls behind its Accatran brothers.

Choose this weapon if

• You like a faster firing lasgun.
• You want a gun that has a very liberal ammo economy.
•  You want to use the “Infernus” weapon blessing.

13. Lawbringer Mk VI Combat Shotgun

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Perfect stats for an alright gun.

Stats: Close Combat, High Damage

The Lawbringer variant of the combat shotgun suffers from the same problem as the Vlla in that the other shotgun variants are just better. Each shotgun boasts a spread shot when shooting from the hip and a slug shot when aiming down sights. Which sets each shotgun apart is the special ammunition they can load, hitting the special fire button the Lawbringer can load a horde clearing wide-spread shot. While not useless the other shotguns get an incendiary and super slug as their special shot so having a horde clearing shot in a game where everyone gets a decent melee isn’t strong enough to be better than its brothers. 

Choose this weapon if

• You want a good, reliable shotgun.
• You need a horde clearing gun.
• You play a Veteran who wants a close range option.

12. Catachan “Devil Claw” Sword (All Variants)

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Now this is a knife.

Stats: Flurry, Crowd Control

The “Devil Claw” swords are the perfect middle ground for a weapon. A jack of all trades that has quick crowd control light attacks and decent damaging heavy attacks. Along with its own special parry attack that can do a lot of damage and protect you from hits that would otherwise down you.

Choose this weapon if

• You want a reliable sword for all situations.
• You want to have a rather strong parry.
• You want a weapon with fast attacks.

11. Lorenz Mk V Kickback

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All you need is one shot.

Stats: Spreadshot, Close Combat

The Kickback is a powerful single shot shotgun that is exclusive to the Orgyn. The fast reload and decent swap speed lets players quickly shoot any up close targets and it has a staggering amount of knockback making sure that even tougher enemies back off.

Choose this weapon if

• You want a quick swapping Ogryn gun.
• You want a very powerful shotgun.
• You want a quick horde clearing gun.

10. Standard-issue Munitorum Sapper Shovel

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For digging your enemies graves.

Stats: Versatile, Crowd Control

This Veteran exclusive melee weapon excels at being a crowd control menace. With very quick light attacks and heavy attacks that sweep through mobs the low damage output gets ignored by this weapon’s ability to keep enemies off of you.

Choose this weapon if

• You want a Veteran melee that helps with horde clear.
• You want a fast hitting melee
• You want a melee weapon with decent stagger power.

9. Atrox Tactical Axe (All Variants)

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Lightweight yet deadly.

Stats: Flurry, Assassin

The Atrox tactical axe line of weapons focus on fast hitting single target attacks. While the tactical axe doesn’t have a lot of cleave it’s fast attack speed allows players to not be overwhelmed as long as a full horde isn’t on them. And the axe’s rather high damage and armor piercing properties allows players to take on armored enemies.

Choose this weapon if

• You want a fast swinging, hard hitting weapon.
• You need something against armored enemies.
• You want some very powerful melee headshots.

8. Locke Mk IIb Spearhead Boltgun

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The 40k gun.

Stats: High damage, Piercing Shots

The iconic Boltgun is one of the most hard hitting weapons in the game being able to do massive damage to every enemy in the game. While it does specialize in doing damage it does lack in nearly every other department such as max ammo, reload, and swap speed. Even with these downsides there is no other weapon in the game that can burst down large enemies and bosses like the Boltgun.

Choose this weapon if

• You want to feel the strength of the iconic Bolter.
• You want a very strong boss killer.
• You want armored enemies to not have fun.

7. Foe-Rend Ripper Gun (All Variants)

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Full auto shotgun? Say less.

Stats: Spreadshot, Torrent

These Ogryn exclusive line of shotguns are some of the most consistent guns in the game. With a surprisingly narrow spread even at long ranges the Ripper guns can be used in any Ogryn loadout. The special attack the Ripper guns have being a bayonet stab seems rather useless but with the “Can Opener” weapon blessing you can debuff armored enemies and make them easier to kill.

Choose this weapon if

• You want a reliable Ogryn shotgun.
• You want another gun for gun Ogryn builds.
• You want an option for heavily armored enemies.

6. Twin-Linked Heavy Stubber (All Variants)

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Never stop firing.

Stats: High Capacity, Torrent

Trading the versatility of the Ripper gun for more specialization the Ogryn exclusive line of Heavy Stubbers are here for gun Ogryn builds and they do their job excellently. With the ability to put down rounds faster than any other weapon in the game along with decent damage on all three variants the Heavy Stubbers can turn anything you point them at into paste. 

Choose this weapon if

• You want a gun that can just keep firing.
• You want to use a gun Ogryn build.
• You want a medium ranged Ogryn gun.

5. Orox Mk II Battle Maul & Mk III Slab Shield

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Big Shield for a big man.

Stats: Crowd Control, Defensive

Yet another Ogryn exclusive weapon the maul and shield is the go to for being the team tank. Boasting an absurdly wide heavy attack range and tons of stamina to block you can single handedly stop hordes in their tracks. And with the special attack key you can slam the shield down and receive no damage from enemies but forcing yourself to be stationary.

Choose this weapon if

• You want to be the team tank.
• You want to stop hordes completely.
• You want large hitting heavy attacks.

4. Equinox Mk IV Voidstrike Force Staff

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When in doubt, fireball. Or voidball.

Stats: Force Weapon, Charged Attack

This Psyker exclusive staff charges a ball of void energy that can annihilate medium armor enemies and with it being a psychic weapon has infinite ammo but generates “peril” much like a gun with an overheat mechanic in other games. Add the fact that you can get weapon blessings that reduce the charge time and “peril” generation with “Warp Flurry” and “Transfer Peril” you can spam these charged shots more than most single shot guns can shoot and reload.

Choose this weapon if

• You want a long range Psyker staff.
• You want to headshot enemies with a Psyker staff.
• You want to have an anti-armored option.

3. Tigrus Mk II Heavy Eviscerator

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For when you really want to rip and tear.

Stats: Unstoppable, Ravage

This beast of a weapon is a Zealot exclusive and it plays to their strength of wanting to be in the middle of a horde by giving them the ability to cleave nearly anything in just a few swings. Boasting high damage, fast attack speed, and wide swings, anything that is the size of you is going to be cut in half without issue. Along with the ability to rev the Eviscerator with the special attack key it lets Zealots punch up to heavily armored enemies and bosses without having to rely on a designated boss killer.

Choose this weapon if

• You want to have the strongest cleaving melee weapon in the game.
• You want to consistently deal with armored enemies.
• You want to rev and cut a boss in half.

2. Zarona Mk IIa Quickdraw Stub Revolver

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Feel lucky heretic?

Stats: High Damage, Precise

Even in the 41st millennium still has its uses boasting an absurd amount of damage and armor penetration rivaling that of the Boltgun, the Revolver has been strong since day one. Along with high accuracy, high crit chance, and the fact that all classes except the Ogryn can use it, someone can always have the Revolver to take out a high priority target.

Choose this weapon if

• You want a long ranged, high damage option.
• You want a gun that can be used on most classes.
• You want a gun with high crit chance.

1. M35 Magnacore MkII Plasma Gun

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Superheated plasma vs face. Who wins?

Stats: High Damage, Charged Attack

This Veteran exclusive gun takes the best from the best weapons on this list. High damage like the Botlgun and Revolver, the most ranged cleave in the game like the Eviscerator, and while it doesn’t have infinite ammo like the Voidstrike Staff it has enough ammo that it is nearly impossible to run out. With just a click of mouse one you can turn a line of heretics into a fine mist and anything you think won’t die in one or two shots will die when you hold mouse two and charge the Plasma Gun.Worried about the overheat mechanic? Don’t because this weapon’s special attack vents the heat and deals laughable damage to your toughness which is easily rechargeable. A jack of all trades and master of all the Plasma Gun is easily the best weapon in Darktide. 

Choose this weapon if

• You want to deal high damage at all ranges.
• You want to poke holes through hordes.
• You want a gun that can take chunks out of bosses.